Academic Growth Trajectories and Family Relationships Among African American Youth

This study explored trajectories of African American youths' academic functioning and assessed whether changes in parent–adolescent relationships were associated with changes in youths' academic functioning. The data were drawn from a 3‐year longitudinal study of gender socialization and development in two‐parent African American families and included 197 families. Findings revealed gender differences in achievement trajectories and indicated that boys not only had lower levels of academic achievement compared to girls, but also experienced steeper declines in school self‐esteem during adolescence. Changes in parent–adolescent relationship quality were linked to changes in academic functioning: Increases in conflict were related to decreases in GPA, school bonding, and school self‐esteem and increases in warmth were related to increases in school bonding and school self‐esteem.     

In‐School Versus Out‐of‐School Friendships and Academic Achievement Among an Ethnically Diverse Sample of Adolescents

Much of the research on adolescent friendships and school achievement has focused on in‐school friends, ignoring the potential effects of having out‐of‐school friendships. The goal of this study was to examine the relation between having relatively more in‐school friends and school achievement among a sample of over 600 12th grade students from ethnically diverse backgrounds. We found that adolescents with more in‐school friends, compared with out‐of‐school friends, had higher grade point averages (GPAs) and that adolescents with higher GPAs had more in‐school friends. These relations were mediated by academic experiences, including those shared with friends. However, as hypothesized, the social aspects of adolescents' friendships did not vary according to their percent of in‐school friends, attesting to the importance of considering both types of friendships in understanding adolescents' social experiences. None of the relations described varied according to gender or ethnicity.     

Neighborhood and School Factors in the School Performance of Immigrants’ Children1

This article examines the effects of neighborhoods and schools on the achievement gaps between adolescents of different nativities and ethnicities. We show that neighborhood and school conditions are better for natives’ than for immigrants’ children, and they are the worst for Hispanic immigrants. Using cross‐classified hierarchical models, we find that introducing neighborhood and school characteristics helps to account for the disadvantage of Mexican immigrants’ children but to reveal the advantage of Filipino immigrants’ children, compared to native non‐Hispanic Whites. Neighborhood and school effects are not universal: they influence school performance of immigrants’ children more than that of natives’ children.     

“You Just Don't Understand Me!” Determinants of Second Generation Asian and Latino Youth Self‐Esteem

To understand the integration of second‐generation Asians and Latinos, we study the association between acculturation and self‐esteem, an aspect of psychological wellbeing and belongingness. Using data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS), we find that Asians have lower self‐esteem than Latinos. Females, youth who are from lower socioeconomic status families, have been in the US for less than five years, have lower grade point averages, experience discrimination, or experience more family conflict, are at risk for lower self‐esteem. For Asians, identifying as American is associated with higher self‐esteem than identifying by nationality or having a hyphenated identity, but it does not provide a similar benefit to Latinos. Both groups benefit from being fluently bilingual, whereas English‐language dominance is protective only for Asian youths’ self‐esteem. Our analysis nuances the role that acculturation factors play in adolescent self‐esteem, signalling that future research should consider interactions between acculturation and race/ethnicity.     

Challenges in Isolating the Effect of College Attainment and Debt Accumulation on Young Adult Self‐Concept

Prior studies have found college attendance to boost self‐esteem and mastery in young adults. Yet, college attendance itself is likely influenced by self‐esteem and mastery levels experienced in adolescence. And both are likely influenced by adolescent cognitive ability and academic achievement. Using data from the NLSY79‐YA, we illustrate the difficulties in isolating the positive effect of college on young adult self‐concept. First, we estimate adolescent self‐concept trajectories for respondents and analyze whether these trajectories are predictive of college attendance and degree attainment. Second, we assess whether the inclusion of adolescent self‐concept trajectories significantly reduces the beneficial effect of college on young adult self‐esteem and mastery. We also investigate the complex temporal relationship between adolescent characteristics, debt accumulation, and young adult self‐concept. Our findings show that the positive effects of college attainment and debt accumulation on young adult self‐concept are significantly reduced when measures of adolescent self‐concept and cognitive ability are included. These results imply that the benefit of going to college or acquiring debt may be overstated when adolescent characteristics are not taken into consideration.     

Ethnic Identity,Stereotype Threat,and Perceived Discrimination Among Native American Adolescents

In this study, ethnic identity, stereotype threat, and perceived discrimination were examined in relationship to academic achievement and hopelessness in a sample of 129 Native American adolescents aged 14–19. Regression analyses with self‐reported data indicated two major findings. Ethnic identity interacted with stereotype threat to predict academic achievement, where participants with high ethnic identity and low stereotype threat scores reported higher grade point averages. Ethnic identity also interacted with perceived discrimination to predict hopelessness, where participants with low ethnic identity and high perceived discrimination scores were higher in hopelessness. Findings are discussed in light of the joint role that ethnic identity and perceived bias have in relationship to developmental outcomes in Native American adolescents.     

Parent Involvement as Parental Monitoring of Student Motivation and Parent Expectations Predicting Later Achievement Among African American and European American Middle School Age Students

SUMMARY

Parent involvement and parent expectations are fundamental to academic success. However, much of the research has been with elementary school aged children; consequently, we know less about the influence of parent involvement and parent expectations on the academic achievement of middle school students, and we have even less information for African American (AA) students. Do parent involvement and parent expectations have a similar effect on later Grade Point Average (GPA) for European American (EA) and AA middle school youth? Data from 567 AA and EA urban youth who participated in a longitudinal study were used in this analysis. Within group hierarchical regression analyses reveal parent involvement and parent expectations are statistically significant for both groups. However, partial correlations indicate parental involvement represents the highest unique contribution to later grade point average for EA students, and for AA students, earlier educational achievement represents the highest unique contribution to later grade point average. Implications for practice suggest that approaches to increase parent involvement may work well with improving academic achievement of EA youth, while approaches to increase early educational achievement may work well with AA students.     

Maternal support and adolescent self‐esteem

The relationship between perceived level of maternal support and adolescent well‐being as measured by level of self‐esteem was examined in a sample of 103 black child participants living in urban formal housing and urban informal housing. The study findings support previous research demonstrating a relationship between maternal support and adolescent psychological well‐being. The findings also point to the benefits of an authoritative style of maternal support that is context‐specific. Authoritative or strict maternal parenting in this study, operationalized in terms of an achievement‐oriented maternal support, was significantly related to mental well‐being of children living in informal settlements. Affiliative related maternal support and lack of social isolation were related to increased adolescent well‐being in urban formal housing. Gender differences in perceived maternal support were also evident in the sample. Mother's presence at home was also related to increased psychological well‐being as measured by self‐esteem.     

The Psychological Well‐Being of Unaccompanied Minors: A Longitudinal Study of Adolescents Immigrating From Russia and Ukraine to Israel Without Parents

This paper examines the psychological well‐being of high school adolescents immigrating from Russia and Ukraine to Israel without parents. Data were collected in a 3‐year longitudinal study that covered the premigration through postmigration periods. Immigrant adolescents were compared with nonemigrating adolescents in Russia and Ukraine. Psychological well‐being of immigrants was highest in the premigration period. During the process of immigration, general self‐esteem, body image, social competence, school competence, and loneliness followed a U‐curve: they declined in the 1st year after immigration and improved in the 3rd year after immigration. Emotional and behavioral problems of immigrants increased in the 1st year after immigration and did not change in subsequent years. At the end of the 3‐year period, self‐esteem exceeded the premigration level, emotional and behavioral problems and loneliness remained below the premigration level, while body image, social competence, and school competence returned to the premigration level. Throughout the entire immigration period, the psychological well‐being of immigrants was higher than that of nonemigrating adolescents. Premigration psychological well‐being as well as perceived social conditions in the host country (discrimination and social support) predicted postmigration psychological well‐being. The results obtained are discussed in light of the stress‐coping model of immigration and ecological systems theory.     

Psychosocial,Motivational, and Contextual Profiles of Youth Reporting Different Patterns of Substance Use During Adolescence

This research examined patterns of substance use and academic factors among a sample of 733 African‐American and European‐American adolescents from a metropolitan area. First, youth were classified into 11th grade high, moderate, or no substance use groups and classified as users, initiators, desistors, and nonusers based on eighth and 11th grade use. Nonusers did not differ in eighth grade from 11th grade moderate users and initiators over time. Eighth graders who reported misbehavior and having low‐achieving friends were more likely to be high 11th grade users and users at both grades. Direct achievement effects were not found; however, interactions indicated achievement was protective when paired with having fun at school, high task value, and low levels of socioeconomic status (SES); and was a risk factor when paired with positive self regard, low fun at school and high SES. Cluster analyses indicated the most prevalent group of substance users reported high grades, social reasons for going to school, and having friends who do well in school.     

Discrimination Hurts: The Academic,Psychological, and Physical Well‐Being of Adolescents

Little is known about the frequency of ethnic or racial discrimination and its implications for Latin American and Asian youths' development. In this study, we examined if there were ethnic and generation differences among 601 12th graders from Latin American (36%), Asian (43%), and European (19%) backgrounds in the frequency of peer, adult, and daily discrimination, and whether discrimination predicted their well‐being. Adolescents from Latin American and Asian backgrounds reported more adult and peer discrimination than their peers from European backgrounds. Latin American youth reported more adult discrimination than their Asian peers. Discrimination predicted lower grade point averages and self‐esteem, and more depressive symptoms, distress, and physical complaints. Ethnic identity, ethnic socialization, and race rejection sensitivity did not moderate the associations between discrimination and well‐being.     

Academic Performance of Young Children in Immigrant Families: The Significance of Race,Ethnicity, and National Origins1

Children of immigrants come from diverse backgrounds and enter school with different family migration experiences and resources. This paper addresses two basic questions: (1) to what extent does generation status exert an independent effect on early school performance net of race/panethnicity, language proficiency, and the family resources available to children as they enter formal schooling? and (2) to what extent do these broad conceptualizations of children in immigrant families mask variation by national origins? We take advantage of longitudinal data on a kindergarten cohort from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study to examine children from diverse backgrounds. Considerable variation in academic performance persists across racial/panethnic groups as well as by country‐of‐origin background and linguistic ability even when adjusting for family background, resources, and previous academic performance. We find some intriguing evidence of early “segmentation” among children from various groups, suggesting some convergence within race and ethnicity for some children. However, this conclusion should not be overstated, because the results also point to the great diversity by national origins that are masked by reliance on racial/panethnic groupings.     

Self‐Esteem Trajectories among Ethnic Minority Adolescents: A Growth Curve Analysis of the Patterns and Predictors of Change

The current study presents a growth curve analysis of self‐esteem among Black, Latino, and Asian American high school students. A series of hierarchical linear models were used to examine patterns and predictors of change in self‐esteem over time. Results revealed an average increase in self‐esteem with age. Although boys and girls experienced similar trajectories of self‐esteem, ethnicity was a significant moderator of developmental change. Black adolescents reported higher self‐esteem, while Asian American adolescents reported lower self‐esteem, compared with their Latino peers. Latino adolescents experienced a sharper increase in self‐esteem over time compared with Black adolescents. The unique and conjoint effects of adolescents' experiences with peers, family, and school were examined in relation to self‐esteem trajectories. Results revealed that each perceived context was significantly associated with self‐esteem trajectories when examined independently, but family experiences emerged as most strongly related to changes in self‐esteem. Results underscore the need to examine change at the individual level, as well as the importance of studying the unique and conjoint effects of individual and contextual‐level variables on developmental processes among ethnic minority adolescents.     

Adolescent Behavioral,Emotional, and Cognitive Engagement Trajectories in School and Their Differential Relations to Educational Success

The current study used a multidimensional approach to examine developmental trajectories of three dimension of school engagement (school participation, sense of school belonging, and self‐regulated learning) from grades 7 to 11 and their relationships to changes in adolescents’ academic outcomes over time. The sample includes 1,148 African American and European American adolescents (52% females, 56% black, 34% white, and 10% others). As expected, the downward trajectories of change in school participation, sense of belonging to school, and self‐regulated learning differed as did their predictive relationships with academic performance and educational aspiration, with school belonging declining most markedly, but being least predictive of changes in grade point average.     

Ego Development and Adolescent Academic Achievement

This study investigated ego developmental differences in adolescent academic orientations and academic achievement. A sample of 142 male and female high school students completed the Washington University Sentence Completion Test and self‐report measures assessing academic locus of control, learning orientation (LO), and grade orientation (GO). With increasing ego development, adolescents demonstrated increased internal academic locus of control, stronger LOs, diminished GOs, and higher class rank. Regression analysis indicated that ego level was a significant predictor of academic achievement after controlling for the effects of verbal intelligence and gender. Implications for fostering academic success through theoretically relevant interventions are discussed.     

Jobs,gender, and self‐efficacy in multiple contexts

This paper focuses on the social psychological correlates of being in an occupation that is sex‐typed against one's own gender‐i.e., cross‐sex incumbency in sex‐typed occupations. Male and female high school teachers and university professors are compared in terms of global self‐esteem as well as in three context‐specific dimensions of self‐efficacy. While no differences in global self‐esteem were revealed, a number of significant differences did emerge in comparisons of self‐efficacy in specific contexts. Our data reveal no uniform effects of cross‐sex incumbency. Male high school teachers, however, did exhibit signs of decreased occupational self‐efficacy, perhaps as a result of the previous female domination of that occupation. Female professors, on the other hand, reported high levels of self‐efficacy on all dimensions. The paper concludes with two hypotheses for further empirical examination, and suggests tht self‐esteem be conceptualized as a multidimensional construct.     

Developing an Additive Risk Model for Predicting Academic Index: School Factors and Academic Achievement

The impact of school factors on academic achievement has become an important focus for identifying, preventing, and intervening with youth at-risk for academic failure. This study was designed to develop and test a more comprehensive school factor risk index. Specifically, the relationship between cumulative grade point average (GPA) and an additive risk index (ARI) were tested and an analysis of the index is presented. School factors that been shown in previous research to impact academic achievement were tested. Those factors were included in the final risk index if they met the criteria of (1) having a correlation with GPA, (2) containing a difference in outcomes between the risk and non-risk groups, and (3) making a unique contribution to the overall index. The risk and protective factors included in the creation of the ARI were attendance, academic self-efficacy, academic expectations, grade retention, music instruction, and school behaviors. The interplay between risk and protective factors was shown to have a significant relationship with GPA.     

Rural Latino Youth Career Development: An Application of Social Cognitive Career Theory

This study used social cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994 ) to investigate the career development of 9th‐grade students living in 2 rural communities with large numbers of Latino immigrants. Participants (55.3% Latino) responded to measures of vocational skills self‐efficacy, career decision outcome expectations, career aspirations, and barriers to postsecondary education. Contrary to previous findings, results indicated that Latino students in these communities reported higher self‐efficacy beliefs than did White students. Latino students also reported higher perceived barriers, but this did not seem to relate to their career aspirations. Results suggest that school and career counselors should focus on programming that attends to Latino students' self‐efficacy and outcome expectations, as well as efficacy for overcoming barriers. Doing so could prove useful for increasing career achievement among rural Latino youth.     

Do Rural Students Really Perform Worse than Urban Students Do? Empirical Evidence from a University Entrance Program in Taiwan

Despite a major expansion in the number of students in higher education, students from rural areas continue to be underrepresented at selective universities. To reduce the urban‐rural imbalance of entry to selective universities, institutions in many countries of the world have implemented admission policies favoring rural students. Previous evidence has shown that rural students have lower academic performance than their urban peers, which leads to concern that rural students will reduce the academic excellence of selective universities. Using the introduction of a university admission policy favoring rural students in Taiwan and a unique administrative data set of students' academic records, we compare the academic performance of students from rural areas with that of their urban counterparts during their college years. The results show that rural students have consistently outperformed urban students in semester grade point averages and class rank percentile across time; however, the differences in academic performance are mainly attributed to the rural students' initial outperformance in the first semester of the freshman year.